"Any place we go where we have to drive far, I go in my husband's car," said Ring, as she filled up her own tank at the Petro Plus station on Princeton Street in North Chelmsford. "He can pay for his own gas."

Ring isn't the only one feeling the heat from gas prices. As of Wednesday, the national average price of gas had risen for 34 consecutive days, according to AAA's Daily Fuel Gauge Report. The average cost for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline was $3.769 in Massachusetts, up more than 30 cents in the past month and more than 13 cents from that day a year ago.

Gas prices usually peak in March and April, but the increase has been earlier and more dramatic this year.

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One theory credits the annual refinery practice of switching from the less-expensive winter blend to the more-expensive summer one. Patrick DeHaan, senior petroleum analyst at GasBuddy.com, thinks it's too early for it to be a factor.

"It has little relevance at this point," said DeHaan. "We're not even close to switching over, so that's not really on the radar until April."

But Mary Maguire, director of public and government affairs for AAA of Southern New England, said refineries, especially ones in the Northeast, have been making that switch earlier than ones in other states.

"We've been seeing it around now, in the February-March time frame," said Maguire.

Both agree, however, on the impact the closing of three refineries in Pennsylvania and New Jersey in the last couple years had on the oil supply on the East Coast. They also agreed on the effect of the rising price of crude oil, which has reached almost $100 a barrel.

"A lot of money is flowing into oil from speculators right now," said DeHaan. "An analogy would be that if you knew the new iPhone was coming out at some point in the future, you would buy Apple stock before the new model is even announced.

Pat Ring of North Chelmsford tops off her tank at the PetrolPlus gas station in North Chelmsford on Thursday. SUN/David H. Brow

People perceive the demand is about to go up, so they buy low and then hope to sell when the prices go up in the summer."

Maguire listed other factors, including the demand from China, the ongoing uncertainty in the Middle East, and extreme weather events like Hurricane Sandy or even the recent blizzard.

"When there's greater demand as there was prior to the storm, that puts upward pressure on prices," said Maguire.

Neither Maguire nor DeHaan thinks Gov. Deval Patrick's proposed budget plan, which calls for a half-penny increase in the gas tax and annual increases tied to the inflation rate, has had an effect on prices yet. If it passes, that burden would eventually fall on consumers, but DeHaan thinks the price of gas would have to skyrocket to at least $5 for drivers to really curb their driving habits.

"I mostly just drive in local traffic, but you have to drive," said Ring, who's retired and lives in North Chelmsford. "We're picking up kids from school, we go to church. I'll walk sometimes, but I would never want to in this weather."

Maguire suggested tactics like keeping your speed under 60 mph to optimize fuel efficiency and looking out for the best deals to stretch your dollar.

"We tell people shop the low end of the range," said Maguire. "Massachusetts has a range from $3.59 to $3.87, so you should know $3.59 is your target and to look for $3.60s. It saves you money and puts downward pressure on the market for everyone."

The price of gas may start to come down soon, though. Over the course of Wednesday and Thursday, the price of crude oil decreased $4 to $92.91 on the New York Mercantile Exchange. DeHaan projected a couple more weeks of slow increase before the price starts to stabilize.

Ron Garber is hoping the drop comes soon. At the Mobil station on Middlesex Street in Lowell, it cost Garber, who works for J&L Cable TV Services in North Chelmsford, $143.15 to fill his tank with 33 gallons of diesel fuel -- and that was with a quarter of the tank still full.

"A lot of money goes into fuel," said Garber, a Tewksbury resident. "It'd be nice to see a break in the prices."

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